Rights Guide to Winning Titles Literature and Children’s Books / Translation Funding Spring 2018 “The book is a pot of science and civilization, culture and knowledge, literature and the arts, and nations are not measured by material wealth only, but by their cultural authenticity.” — Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan (1971–2004) The Award The Sheikh Zayed Book Award honours the outstanding achieve- ments of innovators and thinkers in literature, the arts and human- ities in Arabic and other languag- es. Launched in 2007 and cover- Selection Process 2017–18 Timeline ing nine categories, the award promotes creativity, advances w The Award’s rigorous selection process is Arabic literature and culture, and May–October 2017 supervised by a Board of Trustees and a Nominations open provides new opportunities for Scientific Committee. Arabic-language writers. w Every year, the Scientific Committee ap- October 2017 Authors writing about Arab cul- points a group of distinguished regional Judging begins and international literary figures as judg- ture and civilisation in English, es to serve on nine selection commit- French, German, Italian and Span- February 2018 tees, one for each award category. ish also are recognised by the Longlist announced award. In addition to honouring w There are 3 to 5 judges per category, all writers and their publishers, the of whom remain anonymous to safe- March 2018 guard the independence and integrity award addresses the import- Shortlist announced of the selection process. ant role that translators play in helping bridge the cultural and w Each committee reviews all nominated April 2018 literary gap between Arab and works in a category and submits its se- Winners announced non-Arab readers and authors. lection to the Scientific Committee. w The Scientific Committee reviews and Open to any individual contrib- approves the committees’ selections, uting to the region’s cultural de- which are then officially endorsed by velopment, the award categories the Board of Trustees. Sheikh Zayed Bin Prizes include: Contribution to the De- Tahnoon Al Nayan, president of the Abu velopment of Nations, Children’s Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority, presides over the Board. Literature, Young Author, Transla- Each prize consists of a gold medal bearing tion, Literature, Literary and Art w The winners are announced ahead of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award logo, a certifi- Criticism, Arabic Culture in Other the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, cate of merit, and a cash reward, comprising culminating in a prestigious ceremony Languages, Publishing and Tech- a total prize value of AED 7 million (US$1.9 every year. nology, and Cultural Personality million). of the Year (individual and or- ganisation). Each award category The Cultural Personality of the Year receives has its own judging panel that is Learn more about the Sheikh Zayed Book a prize of AED 1 million (US$272,000), while comprised of three to five distin- Award online at: the winners of the other categories receive guished regional and internation- AED 750,000 (US$204,000) each. al literary figures. www.zayedaward.ae NEWS FROM THE SHEIKH ZAYED BOOK AWARD Sheikh Zayed Book Award Launches Translation Initiative Abu Dhabi, 25 February 2018: The Sheikh Zayed Book Award announced open up new levels of excellence in the Sheikh Zayed Book Award.” the launch of a Translation Initiative in cooperation with the Frankfurt HE Dr. Ali Bin Tamim, Secretary General of the Award, said: “The part- Book Fair N.Y branch, aiming to support publishing houses in translating nership of Sheikh Zayed Book Award with the Frankfurt Book Fair stems the Award’s winning titles into English, French and German. The initiative from our overarching vision to consistently support the constructive cul- comes as part of the action plan in response to the recommendations ma- tural communication between Arabic and other languages, as well as to terialising out of the Translators’ Seminar held in London last year towards continue bolstering the developing translation activities within the Arab providing appropriate support and awareness of Arab authors and literary world. Representing the cherished values of the Award’s mission during works. the nation’s celebration of the Year of Zayed, this collaboration signifies the HE Saif Saeed Ghobash, Director General of the Department of Culture endeavours towards enriching cultures and arts, combining tradition and and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, said: “This year is witnessing the 12th edition of modernity, encouraging cultural openness, diversity, and acceptance of the the Sheikh Zayed Book Award, marking more than a decade of the hard other. From there springs our deep belief in the role of translation in pro- work and effort that has laid the foundation for a cultural and literary land- moting dialogue among civilisations and building the spirit of convergence mark that seeks to celebrate creative literary scholars and intellectuals. among nations, reflecting what we strive for in this strategic partnership, The Award has always been characterised by its openness to international which will be pivotal to realising the vision and objectives of the Award.” cultures and encouraging remarkable cultural activity at both Arab and in- From his side, Juergen Boos, President of the Frankfurt Book Fair, said: ternational levels. As part of the Department’s initiatives that celebrate the “This helps raise awareness internationally regarding the Sheikh Zayed Year of Zayed, I am delighted to be taking part today in signaling another Book Award, in addition to promoting the Award’s work and winners at the big step along the march of excellence, a strategic partnership with the cultural and literary international events, such as the Frankfurt Book Fair. We Frankfurt Book Fair Office in New York.” are very happy to enter into this partnership, as we look forward to continu- “This partnership is aimed at encouraging translations from Arabic into ing co-operation with the Sheikh Zayed Book Award.” other languages and spreading Arab culture in the West, thus strength- The agreement includes promoting the Award’s winning titles among ening the position of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award among international international publishing houses, with a special focus on the literature and awards as an incubator of Arab culture and promoter of dialogue among children’s literature categories. The agreement was signed during the meet- civilizations”, Ghobash added. ings of the Award’s Scientific Committee, which were held between 21-23 “There is no more active partner than the Frankfurt Book Fair, with a February to review the reports of the judging panels for the nominations of history going back five centuries. Therefore, I am honoured to launch this the Award’s 12th session in preparation for the announcement of short-lists initiative today, in the hope and expectation that it will achieve its goals and and the winners within the coming weeks. 2018 Winners of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award Announced Abu Dhabi, April, 2018: The Sheikh Zayed Book Award announced today The ‘Literature’ Award went to Syrian novelist Khalil Sweileh for his the winners of its 12th Edition (2017-2018). novel ‘Ikhtibar al-nadam’ (Remorse Test) published by Nofal-Hachette An- Marking the announcement, Dr. Ali Bin Tamim, the Secretary General of toine, Beirut (2017). Sheikh Zayed Book Award commented: “the nominations went through a The ‘Children’s Literature’ Award went to Emirati author Hessa Al Mu- rigorous assessment towards selecting the best of the entire body of works hairi for her story ‘’al-dinoraf” (The Dinoraf) published by Al Hudhud Publish- received this year, followed by a series of evaluations lasting for 3 months ing and Distribution, UAE (2017). by qualified judging panels, to be concluded by the reviews of the Scientific In the ‘Young Author’ category, the Egyptian writer Ahmad Al Qarma- committee and the final sign off by the Award’s Board of Trustees to name lawi won the title for his novel ‘Amtar Sayfiyyah’ Summer( Rains), published the winning titles of the 12th session.” by Maktabat al-Dar al-Arabiyah lil-Kitab, Cairo (2017). He added: “Throughout the past twelve years since its inception, the The ‘Translation’ Award went to Néji Elounelli from Tunisia for his Award has won a reputation of recognizing and celebrating the best text in Arabic translation from of the work of German author Theodor W. Adorno, the Arabic literary production, with a deeply rooted transparency engraved ‘natharayya ‘astiteeqyya’ (Ästhetische Theorie), published by Al-Jamal Publi- on a regional and an international level.” cations, Beirut 2017 From his side, HE Saif Saeed Ghobash, Director General of the De- The ‘Literary and Art Criticism’ Award went to Moroccan academic partment of Culture and Tourism–Abu Dhabi, congratulated the winners Mohammad Mishbal, for his work, ‘Fi Balaghat Al Hajjaj: nahwa balagha for their achievement, stressing that their works deserve the recognition, hajjajiyyah litahleel al khitab’ (The Rhetoric of Al Hajjaj: Towards a rhetoric and adding: “As we mark the Year of Zayed, this is fitting appreciation to inspired by Al Hajjaj in analyzing discourse), published by Kunouz Al Ma’refa the memory of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan; crowning this Publishers, Amman (2017). outstanding group of writers, intellectuals, publishers and young talent as The ‘Arab Culture in Other Languages’ Award went to German re- winners of an award in his name, and echoing his vision of fostering the searcher Dag Nikolaus Hasse for his work Success and Suppression: Arabic sciences to enrich the Arab cultural, literary and social life.” Sciences and Philosophy in the Renaissance, published by Harvard Press 2017. The ‘Publishing and Technology Award went to Dar Al-Tanweer (Bei- rut/Cairo/ Tunisia). Translation Funding for Winning Titles: Literature & Children’s Books ELIGIBLE TITLES: TRANSLATION FUNDING Literature: The aim of SZBA’s translation fund is to contribute to increasing the number of Arabic books that are w Remorse Test (Ikhtibar al-nadam) by Khalil translated, published and distributed abroad.